Thursday, November 8, 2012

Out of a far country by Christopher Yuan and Angela Yuan

I just finished this book on the way home on the train and the ending brought tears to my eyes. Now it's pretty rare for a book to do that; I don't weep much while reading, what with it being a rather cerebral and abstract activity.

I first heard about Christopher Yuan earlier this year as he was a scheduled speaker in the Exodus International conference. Then a few weeks ago, I started following him on Twitter. He posted a couple of reviews that I read and that piqued my interest. So I ordered my own copy from bookdepository.com.

The book is an easy read and is an alternating narrative featuring both Christopher and his mother Angela Yuan. I must say the reviews do not do justice to the book.

This book tells us in great detail about a relatively promiscuous gay life that Christopher led. He came out pretty early in the book to his parents and moved out immediately after doing so. He was in dental school, but the nights in the gay clubs introduced him to the world of drugs.

First experimenting, then dealing in small amounts, finally graduating to being a successful dealer in great quantities of drugs nationwide, I must say that he was a really intelligent businessman. I was really impressed at the scale of his dealership. Then again, that's probably how he got into dental school.

On the other hand, Angela was a person that was very much against Christians and the church. But after the shock of her son coming out to her, she decided to end her life and was miraculously prevented by a talk with a minister who gave her a booklet titled, "Homosexuality: An Open Door?", she began tentatively believing in the possibility of a God. That was the turning point.

I shall not go into too much detail for fear of spoiling your read, but this is truly a story of the power of prayer and perseverance. Despite Christopher's aggressive stance and behaviour, his parents never once gave up hope in his redemption.

And one day he is finally busted, caught red-handed and imprisoned. Picking up a Bible from a trashcan, Christopher begins his journey to God. He eventually led Bible studies and preached in prison, surprising both himself and his mother.

This is one amazing story and the final homecoming was so simple but full of meaning that I teared up in the train and was trying to hide it, fearing that my fellow commuters might not make sense of it.

So, if you're interested in hearing the inside scoop of the gay lifestyle in America, it does go in quite a bit of detail, describing the party circuit and stuff, get this book. There were times I felt like a voyeur. But more than that, if you want to know how to respond lovingly to a person coming out, this book gives you an incredible example to follow.